Jawbone THOUGHTS puts PTT on iPhone

Jawbone has outed a new iPhone app for use with its ICON Bluetooth headset, which allows for one-minute audio messages - complete with optional voice-to-text transcription - to be sent from the Apple smartphone. Jawbone THOUGHTS is a free download from the App Store, and in fact you don't need to have an ICON in order to use it; instead, you can record messages using the iPhone's own microphone.

If recipients have the app themselves, then the THOUGHTS message pops up in there; if not - say, if they're not using an iOS device - then they get a link to it via text or email. You can send messages to one or multiple recipients, a little like group PTT.

Video demo after the cut

While the app itself is free, transcription is not; you get ten voice-to-text transcriptions bundled with THOUGHTS, but if you want any more after that then you'll have to make an in-app purchase. Maybe not a reason to buy an ICON, but if you've already got one then it could be handy.

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Press Release:

Jawbone THOUGHTS Combines the Power of Voice with the Efficiency of Text

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – Dec. 9 – Jawbone, the leader in personal mobile technology, today unveiled Jawbone THOUGHTS, an iPhone application that allows users to easily send quick voice messages to individuals and groups, without typing or calling. The application combines the speed of texting, the group collaboration of email, and the emotional quality of voice all in one. Available as a free download in the Apple App store, THOUGHTS is the latest innovation from Jawbone.

“We live in a world that is 100% mobile, 100% connected and unfortunately 150% distracted. Reading and typing doesn’t work when you need your hands and eyes to navigate the physical world. While there has been a tremendous amount of innovation in text based messaging, all of it lacks the richness of voice,” explains Travis Bogard, Vice President of Product Management and Strategy at Jawbone. “THOUGHTS is our solution to these realities by integrating all the things we love from text-based communications with the power of voice. We think it’s a really powerful way to share ideas quickly.”

With Jawbone THOUGHTS, users can send a “Thought,” which is a voice message up to one minute in length, by simply selecting a contact or group, speaking into an iPhone or Jawbone ICON headset, and tapping POST – no more stopping whatever you're doing, no more typing long messages on cramped keyboards. And because Jawbone THOUGHTS sends messages in the user's own voice, there's no need to re-explain or run the risk of a message being misconstrued.

Sometimes messages are better spoken than written. THOUGHTS reintroduces emotion and personality into mobile communication. Users can sing a birthday song, congratulate a colleague, joke around with friends, coordinate a dinner, or share big news with all the people they care about, such as “We're having a baby!” Nothing conveys information more personally and sincerely than the human voice.

Jawbone THOUGHTS is the ultimate collaboration tool that allows a user to send a message to anyone in their phone’s address book. Contacts with the THOUGHTS app will receive the message in THOUGHTS and recipients without the application will receive a link to the audio message via text or email. The asynchronous design of the application allows the sender to share a Thought at the time of the idea and the recipient to listen and reply when convenient for them. THOUGHTS’ interactive interface allows users to hold multiple discussions at once – automatically organizing conversations as users reply and allowing recipients to quickly and easily see who said what and when. Additionally, for situations when a user may prefer to read a message (in a restaurant or meeting), THOUGHTS can transcribe the audio message instantly into text.

Jawbone THOUGHTS is free to install and available online at the Apple iPhone® App store and at mytalk.jawbone.com. To learn more about Jawbone THOUGHTS, go to Jawbone.com/thoughts.